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East Cowes

York Avenue

Part of Queen Victoria's Osborne Estate. Prince Albert, her husband, laid out the original garden. Terraces were added by Edward VII. There is a secret garden, a water garden and a commercial vineyard.

The area to the east of York Avenue containing the properties of Osborne House and to the south Barton Manor is really the most historic part of Cowes and indeed is often referred to as the historic centre of the Island. It contains Osborne House with Swiss Cottage, the properties known as Albert Cottage, Osborne Cottage, Victoria Cottage, all of which face onto York Avenue, with the various lodge houses and Triumphal Arch entry gateway, the only intrusion here is the old Westlands factory unhappily captured between the southern end of Osborne in the western side of Barton Manor.

A group of houses to the east of York Avenue encompassing Albert Cottage, Osborne Cottage and Victoria Cottage form a cohesive group, particularly with the covered way linking the two main buildings and also to the north encompassing the Triumphal Arch as the main entry into the Osborne grounds. However, they all benefit from being Grade II listed buildings and although the character of the buildings is fairly consistent throughout, there are few other buildings roundabout of any consequence and they are really are linked in style and location to the grounds of Osborne. It is considered therefore, that the conservation would be unnecessary given that the listed building legislation is quite strong in their protection, and again the area is too small.